The Montevallo Water and Sewer Board plans to bring city sewer service to the Aldrich community by the end of next year.

The board voted Thursday to hire InSite Engineering to complete the work outlined by a $500,000 state grant, which seeks to extend

Montevallo&8217;s sewer lines for nearly two miles.

City leaders say the new lines will eliminate the use of leaky private septic tanks in Aldrich, where raw sewage has seeped into yards, ditches and roads.

Originally a coal-mining town, much of the community was built in the 1930s, and many of the existing septic tanks installed then have deteriorated.

The new 8,600-foot-long sewer line will be constructed to connect an additional 58 households to city sewer services. To assist in sewage disposal, a pump station and four grinder pumps also will be built.

InSite Engineer Bryan Pate expects construction to begin by March. The project should take about six months to complete.

Water Board Chairman Claud Elledge stressed that the project must be completed by Dec. 31, 2007, so that the city can apply for another Community Development Block Grant.

Under grant guidelines, municipalities may have only one project under construction per calendar year.

In October, Gov. Bob Riley notified Mayor Sharon Anderson that the grant had been approved. In response, the city is providing $320,000 in additional funding for the project.

In other business, the board voted to pay Robinson & Sons Construction Service, Inc. $33,5000 to clean and repaint city water tanks.

Also, the city will use Northport-based Double Diamond Construction to replace filter controls and check valves, which will cost $14,630